The Snowflake Man: A Biography of Wilson A. Bentley [Paperback]

Duncan C. Blanchard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1998

This is a biography of Wilson Alwyn Bentley, the farmer from Jericho, Vermont, who took over five thousand photomicrographs of ice, dew, frost, and -- especially -- snow crystals. Although his photographs were taken between 1885 and 1931, they have never been equalled and are in great demand today. Bentley's story is one of courage and persistence against tremendous odds. He taught himself how to photograph snow crystals through a microscope while still in his teens and then pursued his obsession for years before having the beauty and scientific value of his work recognised by others. 'The Snowflake Man' lays open the life of a simple, self-educated, sensitive man who pursued natural beauty with microscope and camera for nearly fifty years. The book contains 30 black and white photographs.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Duncan C Blanchard holds degrees in engineering, physics, and meteorology, and has conducted research in the atmospheric sciences at General Electric, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, and the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, Albany. He has published over 150 articles and books.

Product Details

• Paperback: 237 pages
• Publisher: McDonald and Woodward Publishing Company (July 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0939923718
• ISBN-13: 978-0939923717
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #173,609 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Warmest possible treatment of a delightfully chilly subject, February 2, 1999

By 

JB Blanchard "Jabe" (NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Snowflake Man: A Biography of Wilson A. Bentley (Paperback)

Author Blanchard brings humor, life, and compelling energy to an eccentric and an era previously hidden under a thick layer of (snow)dust. Bentley, generally considered an eccentric -- when considered at all -- was actually a dedicated scientist with an artist's eye and heart. What could have been dull scientific treatise actually reads with the smooth pull of a good novel.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fitting tribute for one man's life long obsession, February 17, 2005

By 

VampireCowboy (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Snowflake Man: A Biography of Wilson A. Bentley (Paperback)

It is said that no two snowflakes are alike; the same holds true for the obsessions that drive the human spirit. Some we control, others control us. Wilson A. Bentley, an eccentric Vermont farmer, gave in to his fascination with snowflakes and spent his entire life documenting their myriad forms. His unprecedented and starkly beautiful collection of literally thousands of photographs of snowflakes taught the world just how unique these ice crystals really are, and how one man could stubbornly pursue one microscopic slice of knowledge over the entire course of his life.

Bentley lived and died bewitched by atmospheric process. As a teenager, he built by hand the photographic equipment that would later gain him some measure of fame, often incorporating found materials - such as straws from a broom - into the rigors of his study. Dismissed by most as a harmless crank, his work was groundbreaking, leading to a revolution in understanding.

In The Snowflake Man, author Duncan S. Blanchard uses his professional training as a meteorologist and physicist to commemorate the labor of love that drove Bentley. The writing is, at best, of limited merit but in some odd way that only serves to make the images of Bentley - a confirmed bachelor - hunched over his photographic equipment all the more poignant. What is clear is that Mr. Blanchard knows his subject matter well and was no doubt inspired in his own career by the unwavering dedication, or obsession, of the odd and all but forgotten researcher.

Like Bentley's favorite subject matter, the book itself will quickly melt away - it is a slim effort that can be read in one sitting. The photographs, now almost a century old, are still remarkable though. Most compelling, however, is the insight it offers into obsession which will linger long after the last page. It is a worthy and recommended read if only to honor the fierce, undying commitment of the snow flake man.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars To Preserve Nature's Designs for all the World to See., November 4, 2006

By 

mirasreviews (McLean, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Snowflake Man: A Biography of Wilson A. Bentley (Paperback)

Wilson A. Bentley rarely left Jericho, Vermont, but his contributions to meteorology and his extraordinary photomicrographs of snow crystals reach far and wide. In 1885, at the age of 19, Bentley became the first person to successfully photograph a snowflake. A lifetime of dedication -not to say obsession- to preserving the beauty of ephemeral snow crystals produced over 5,000 impressive snowflake images. Even now, Bentley's images are found on textiles, paper products, jewelry, and every sort of graphic art. Atmospheric scientist and author Duncan Blanchard has pieced together Bentley's story as best as possible with relatively little surviving documentation of his personal life. Of course, to Bentley, photographing snowflakes and studying atmospheric phenomena was his personal life. He was passionately devoted to it.

"The Snowflake Man" begins with a little Bentley family history, then follows Wilson's life and work from his birth in 1865 to his death in 1931 at age 66, shortly after the publication of his wonderful "Snow Crystals", which brought the best of his vast collection of snow crystal photos to book form. Bentley lived his entire life on his family's 4-generational farm and made his photographs in the barn, washing his glass plates in a brook, making copy negative with an oil lantern and contact prints by sunlight. He applied the same methodical perfectionism to recording the weather and studying the formation of raindrops and frost, among other atmospheric water phenomenon. Many of Bentley's contributions to meteorology were recognized at the time, but science took a few decades to catch up with his pioneering work in cloud physics.

Duncan Blanchard has written a sympathetic biography of Wilson Bentley, a man who suffered constant derision for his scientific obsession that was simply unproductive and out of place in a farming community. His spectacular photomicrographs opened the door to professional respect and, eventually, popular fame. This biography is more straightforward than eloquent, and Blanchard jumps to too many conclusions about Bentley's thoughts and his family. But the book is very readable and contains as much information on Wilson Bentley as anyone is going to find. There is an index in the back as well as a list of all of the known articles that Bentley authored in his lifetime.